CRISTO RE, FESTA DI

CHRIST THE KING, FEAST OF. — With the encyclical Quas primas of 11 Dec. 1925, at the close of the Holy Year, Pius XI instituted the liturgical feast of Christ the King to be celebrated, with the rite of the first class and with its own office and Mass, on the last Sunday of October, so that the faithful may recall the kingship of Christ through expiatory and proclaiming rites. This feast thus sums up the thought not only of Epiphany, the most ancient feast which extols the regal dignity and the universal kingdom of Christ, but of the entire liturgical year, which continually expresses the truth and reality of this kingship. To bear more effective witness to this recognition, it was established that on that day, in all churches, the consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, king of love and peace, should be solemnly renewed.